Yu Darvish: Why He Is the Missing Piece for Blue Jays

We still might not know who won the bid for Yu Darvish until December 20th, but it sounds like it's a very real possibility that the stud pitcher will serve as a Christmas present for Toronto Blue Jays fans.

Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBS tweeted that the Blue Jays are likely one of the two favorites for Darvish.

"

Signs strong jays & rangers did make serious bids for yu darvish. but could be a #mysteryteam. #yankees bid said modest.

"

Well if that's true, Dallas Morning News' Evan P. Grant's tweet would put the Blue Jays as the clear front-runner.

"

The 'buzz' is that Toronto had whopper of offer on Darvish. Many reasons for Jays to bid more than $50mm. Believe Rangers bid. Prob. in $40s.

"

Whatever the case turns out to be, it's beginning to look more and more likely the Jays put in a huge offer for Darvish. At the same time, it appears that most of the other major league teams shied away from the Japanese import with their bids.

If I was a betting man, and I am, I would put the odds of Darvish going to the Blue Jays very high. 

That's all fine and dandy, but that's not why you're here. The real question at hand is this: If the Blue Jays do get Darvish with their "massive" bid, is he actually worth it?

And furthermore, would he actually make them contenders?

The Jays were 81-81 last year and this would certainly make them better, but the AL East is probably the best division in baseball, at least at the top.

They are going to have to get much better if they want to win the division. Remember, though, that the two wild-card team system is being implemented next season.

You won't have to be nearly as perfect to make the playoffs anymore.

As far as their starting rotation goes, things were pretty poor last season for Toronto. 

Assuming the hype is real, Darvish would immediately step into the No. 2 spot behind ace Ricky Romero and push Brandon Morrow to the three spot. 

Still though, that leaves the other two spots with some combination of Brett Cecil, Kyle Drabek, Jessie Litsch, Carlos Villanueva and whoever else.

There's no question their top three would give teams fits in a five-game playoff series, but it might be getting there that's a problem. 

Nonetheless, Darvish is an upgrade at Toronto's weakest position. The Jays had no trouble scoring last year, as they finished fifth in the AL with 4.59 runs per game.

Their pitching, however, was mediocre. They gave up 4.70 runs per game, which was fourth-worst in the league. 

What this means when you get down to it is Darvish is a much more important free-agent pickup than someone like, say, Prince Fielder or Carlos Pena. Improving your weaknesses is how a team gets better, and this serves as a huge improvement over a big weakness.

Again, assuming the Darvish hype is for real, this turns the Blue Jays, who were already on the fringe, into contenders.